Islanders sophomore year plan for Matthew Schaefer comes into view

Matthew Schaefer’s getting a shake-up.Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer plans to expand the defenseman’s defenseman Matthew Schaefer’s versatility in his sophomore season by moving the young phenom around the blue line.“I think Schaefer is an option on the right side,” DeBoer said of the lefty-shooting Calder Memorial Trophy winner.Schaefer played predominantly on the left side during his rookie campaign, with the exception of three late-season games when Ryan Pulock was out of the lineup.“I think in our system everybody’s interchangeable … where we’re interchangeable, that allows us to put pressure on the puck,” the coach added.DeBoer, who replaced Patrick Roy at the helm with four games left in the team’s late-season 2025 spiral out of playoff contention, added that he’s looking at offensive weapon Mat Barzal to play center this upcoming season.“I think Barzy wants to play center,” DeBoer said.“I think he’s excited about it.

He’s embracing it, and I think that makes us a better team if he’s there.”“I like that speed down the middle,” the coach added, DeBoer said, likening the fast-lane approach to what brought success to the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes, as well as to their finals opponent, the Vegas Golden Knights. The start of free agency made DeBoer’s settling into his first offseason with the Islanders new club an even greater challenge.Longtime captain Anders Lee left the team Islanders Wednesday for a three-year, $16.2 million deal with the Mammoth. “I don’t think I remember a time — the Islanders without Anders Lee in the lineup,” DeBoer said of the forward who debuted with the team Isles in 2012 and was named captain in 2018.  “My wish is that Anders goes on and has career years in Utah, and helps them.

I’m sure he will,” he added of Lee, who helped carry the team to back-to-back Eastern Conference conference finals in 2020 and 2021.Islanders defenseman Isaiah George flat-out told The...